Faesia
Faesia is the one life supporting dwarf planet in the Jal system. It is host to the Jallan, a race of space gypsies. 'Planetary description' *Faesia is just inside the circumstellar habitable zone, on the sun side. Water tends to be rare on the surface. There are, however, many underground caves with resevoirs of fresh water. There are no oceans on the surface. Due to the smaller size of the planet, the atmosphere is thin, and oxygen is only at about 6% at surface level, the Faesian equivalent of sea level. The thin atmosphere also allows a large number of meteors to hit the ground, leaving the surface pitted. The Jallan welcome these pits as they frequently reveal new tunnels leading to water resevoirs. Temperatures on Faesia range from approximately 70˚C at the equator during the day (about 5˚C at night) to about -40˚C at the poles. The dwarf planet lacks a tilt and therefore has no seasons. 'Life forms' Plants *Life on Faesia is evolved to handle the more difficult aspects of the planet. Plants on the surface typically have broad leaves to encourage gas exchange. To counteract water loss, they also have very thick waxy cuticles. Roots tend to be the largest part of the plant as it searches for water resevoirs. Even a small shrub only a meter tall can be expected to have a taproot over 20 meters in length. The proximity of the planet to the sun means UV is in much greater abundance than normal. Thus the chlorophyll in surface plants are more attuned to shorter wavelengths, shifting the spectrum of light absorbed. Surface plants are usually shades of blue. There are very few trees, as plants usually grow down rather than up. *Flora underground mainly consist of roots of surface plants and mosses and fungi. Interestingly, surface plants are more likely to flower on the roots in caves surrounding a water resevoir than on the surface. These flowers often exhibit bioluminesance to attract fertilizing fauna. Animals *Most of the resevoirs on Faesia are small and water replenishes slowly. As such, all but the smallest animals are migratory. Most are evolved to be relatively comfortable on both the surface and caves. *Insectoid: The closest Faesia has to insects are called Ofki, they are small invertebrates, sometimes with wings. Unlike insects, they are partially hollow to increase surface area for gas exchange. *Avian: There are no birds per say, but there are winged reptiles, called Xixi. These have an appearence similar to a wyvern. The smallest are only about 5 cm long. The largest can reach nearly 2 meters in wingspan. There are some species of Xixi that have been domesticated and are used as draft animals and hunting animals. Some of the smaller ones have been specially bred to be pets. All but the largest Xixi travel between surface and cave environments. *Reptilian: Non winged reptiles, called Zha, are usually long bodied quadropeds. Amongst all the animals of Faesia, Zha is the only phylum that is made almost exclusively of surface-only dwelling animals. The largest of them can reach up to 5 meters long and are usually considered the top predator. *Fish: To Jallan knowledge, there are only two types of fish: Kays and Kayzons. Kays have eyes and will nibble on bioluminencent roots. Kayzons are eyeless and eat kays. Both are considered delicacies by the Jallan. *Mammalian: Mammals are incredibly diverse. They can have anywhere from zero limbs to eight. Several have been domesticated as draft animals, hunting animals, companion animals, and food. One of the most popular is the eight-legged Cloft. A good cloft is considered indespensible to its owner. They are incredibly strong for their size (typically 1 meter or shorter at the shoulder) and are often used as draft animals. An added bonus to this is that the eight legs make them very stable in trecherous terrain, such as descending into a cave or craters. They can be trained to hunt or to assist in herding. Clofts are usually extremely loyal to their owners. Most Jallan families will have at least one cloft (the standard is one cloft for every three Jallan). 'The Jallan Anatomy and Physiology' *The Jallan people themselves are mammals. They have 4 limbs and stand upright. Their bones are hollow and are involved in their respiratory system, thus they are able to manage the low percentage of oxygen. Compared to most other humanoids in the FAMES systems, they are extremely thin (many non-Jallan unfamiliar with Jallan physiology will assume a Jallan is ill or even starved!). The average height for a Jallan is 1.5 meters, with very little difference between the male and female. They have very large eyes that can adapt quickly to both high amounts of light and very low levels. Their ears are incredibly long. While this does not give them better hearing compared to other humanoids, it does allow them to track echoes better, a strong advantage in caves. Their eyebrows are also extremely long and are thought to be vestigial whiskers. They have long, strong, spindly fingers, used to help them scale walls in caves. Jallan are very pale due to high amounts of zinc oxide in their skin (insted of melanin, which would not be enough for long exposure to the high levels of UV on Faesia). Their system is very good at handling toxins (including alcohol) and it is very hard to poison a Jallan (or get one drunk). Jallan have hemocyanin instead of hemoglobin in their blood (copper based blood instead of iron based). When they bleed, therefore, their blood is colorless if from a vein, and a rich blue if from an artery. Jallan are actually incredibly adaptable: though they evolved for low oxygen, gravity, moisture content, and extreme temperatures, they are able to make themselves comfortable in almost any environment in the FAMES system. 'Culture' *Like almost all animals on Faesia, the Jallan are migratory in nature. There are a few cities based in larger caves with more supportive water resevoirs. These cities are the main locations of scientific discovery. However, they are almost entirely dependant on the more traditional nomads (Asa Jallan) for resources. As radio waves do not travel well to the caves, the cities also depend on nomads for news. The scientific and sedentary (Hrecht) Jallan typically do not leave Faesia unless their research absolutely requires it. When space travel was discovered by the Hrecht, it was the Asa that took advantage of it, using it to further their exploration for resources and trade. Space traveling Asa soon became a sub-category, called the Asa-recht. *Asa Jallan (including the Asa-recht) rarely travel alone. They prefer travelling in groups, usually referred to as troupes. A troupe contains between 3 and 30 Jallan, though the average is between 15 and 20. They are usually families. Even if a Jallan is not family by blood, they are usually considered family to a troupe after traveling a number of months with the troupe. Each troupe contains a leader (Patah), a main money handeler (Pesht), and a historian and herald (Presenzi). *Several troupes can come together through alliances and become a clan. One Patah will be chosen as the Patah-asa, the head of the clan. Occasionally an Asa-recht troupe will be included in an Asa clan, but they are becoming more and more distinct as time goes on. Clans usually will associate with only one main city. A large enough clan will organize a slightly more formal form of government. Cities typically have local governments, but centralized governments are limited to non-existant. *Asa Jallan have a territory that they roam. They tend to cycle from cave to cave. Asa-recht do not have territories and will roam where-ever they wish. *Jallan have a limited concept of writing. They occasionally will use pictograms to convey an idea (much more common among the Hrecht), but are by and large an oral culture. Thus the Presenzi is incredibly important. The role requires extensive training. When two or more Presenzi meet, they will exchange brief summaries of the histories that they know. If one is missing part of history, the other will fill in the gap. Presenzi also act as messangers, as the caves of Faesia is not condusive to radio signals (the only time radios are used are above ground, and mainly only to space ships) *The Asa-recht Jallan have started to move away from being traders. They have realized that they can never compete with the sheer size of the Natulus system merchants. They have shifted their focus instead to being entertainers, news carriers, and the source for rarities and curiosities. *Jallan have no deity. Their belief structure is generally universal though: they believe that there is a world outside of this universe. This universe is a game. Souls are players. When a soul begins the game, they enter this universe via birth. The game ends when the character dies. The player loses all memory on entry into the game. The goal of the game is to figure out the rules of the game (figure out the meaning of life). The rules may change depending on the character. Various other souls may decide to interfere with another's game (this is why it is very bad to harm another: their soul might start making your game harder). *Clothing: While some of the Asa-recht choose to wear flight-suits, most Jallan wear variations of the same thing. The first layer is made up of long straps, called basa. These straps cling to each other, allowing the Jallan to wrap themselves with them. This layer goes up to the neck and extends down each extremity, ending at the wrists and ankles. It maintains some degree of water retention. While this layer technically covers the entire body, it is considered rude to go out and about wearing only this. The next layer is a pair of pants. While styles vary, the pants are typically very loose and flowing. They extend down to mid calf and up to just below the rib cage. They are fastened on with a short strap of basa. While within a cave, a Jallan will typically wear a loose fitting, open vest. When venturing to the surface, a Jallan will don a tunic. The tunic extends anywhere from the groin area to mid thigh. The sleeves are cut at an angle. The shorter side usually stops at just above the elbow, while the longer side can go well past the wrist. The sleeves are loose enough that a Jallan can easily tuck their entire arm inside the sleeve. All tunics have long hoods that a Jallan will pull on when it is sunny. The tunic acts as another layer of moisture retention. It also protects against UV. The fabric it is made of is changed depending on the temperature. The tunics are held closed using several strips of basa. Most Jallan wear small ovals of cloth over their hands when in the sun. These cover the back of the hand while leaving the palms uncovered. Shoes worn in caves are usually thinner soled and roughened, allowing the Jallan greater ease when climbing. Shoes worn outside are much thicker. Both types are shallow and stop at the ankle. Leather straps are connected and wrap up the calf to further secure the shoes. No Jallan outfit is complete without a small dagger tucked into the basa belt. These daggers are not big enough to fight with, and are only used to eat with or make blood oaths with. Many Jallans also consider earings and important part of their outfit. The earings are rarely the same on both side. There is a complicated system of symbols associated with these earings, and they can reveal anything from troupe and clan to nomadic status (Asa Jallan, Hrecht, or Asa-recht) to relationship status to social ranking (example: Patah versus Pesht).